Inhaler.



Patented May l, |900. T. N. BARNES. INHALEB.

(Applicationled Oct. 19, 1898.)

(N0 Model.)

I v A4. @y $40 "A mnzeys,

TNB NbHRIS mns my WASHINGTON, D. C,

' To 1J/Z whom, it may concern.-

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS NORVAL BARNES, OF WESTON, IVEST VIRGINIA.

INHALER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 648,874, dated May 1,1900.

Serial No. 693,988- (No model.)

Be it known that I, THOMAS Nora/AL BARNES, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Weston, in the county of Lewis and State of VestVirginia, have invented a new and useful Inhaler, of which the followingis a specication.

The invention relates to improvements in inhalers. i

One object of the present invention is to improve the construction ofinhalers and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and eficient deviceadapted to clamp the septum of the nose slightly and with sufficientforce to enable the device to be conveniently carried by a patientwithout interfering with any of his vocations, so that a healing-balmmay be constantly applied to adiseased membrane for curing chroniccatarrh, hay-fever, colds, asthma, and bronchial aiections.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device adapted tocontain a suitable drug and capable of causing the inhaled air to passthrough the medicine-chamber and be medicated and also capable ofleading the exhaled air to the atmosphere without passing through themedicine-chamber, so that the contents thereof will not be unnecessarilyconsu med or become contaminated with foul air.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination andarrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated vinthe accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims heretoappended.

In the drawings, Figure lis a perspective view of an inhaler constructedin accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional view takenlongitudinally of both ofthe tubes. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectionalview taken at right angles to Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail viewillustrating a modiiication of the inven-` tion.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawings.

l 1 designate a pair of similar tubes designed to be constructed eitherof metal, such as aluminium, or composition, such as celluloid orzylonite, or a material such as guttapercha; but any other metal ormaterial may be employed, if desired. The tubes, which are arrangedsubstantially parallel, are composed of upper and lower sections 3 andet, telescoping into each other a short distance, and the lower sectionsare united by any suitable means which will enable the upper sections tobe spread slightly for causing them to clamp the septum of the nose ofthe patient sufficiently to retain the device in position to obviate thenecessity of a patient holding it to his nose. f'The upper sections 3 ofthe tubes are provided with bands 3, of soft rubber, which increases thesize of the tubes and which are adapted to be readily removed whendesired. These bands,which are adapted to enter the nose of a patient,enable the size of the device to be readily varied to iit the openingsof different noses. Each lower section is provided with an annularflange 4, above which is arranged an inwardly-opening valve 5,consisting of a thin diaphragm of metalor other suitable material andoonnected at one side of the tube by a hinge 6. The hinge, which may beof any desired oonstruction, can' be conveniently formed of an eye onthe diaphragm or valve and a piece of wire or other material extendingthrough the eye to form a pintle and having its terminals passingthrough the perforations of the tube. The inwardly-opening valvenormally rests upon and is supported by the annular iiange, and when airfrom theV lungs is exhaled through the device the inwardly-opening valvecloses upon its seat and prevents the air from entering the lowertubular section 4, which constitutes a medicine-chamber.

The uppertubular section 3 is provided with an opening 7 and has anoutwardly-opening valve 8 hinged to it and normally covering.

the opening. The valve 8, which is curved to conform to theconfiguration of the tube, is hinged at its upper edge at 9 to the sameand is adapted to close by gravity when the pressure on the interior ofthe inhaler will permit. The valves open and close automatically and donot in any manner interfere with or retard the natural breathing of apatient.

The lower tubular section of each tube is provided with an interior coil10, extending transversely of the device and adaptedto contain absorbentmaterial 11, such as cotton or the like, and this absorbent material maybe saturated with any desired drug adapted'for treating the membrane ofa patient. Instead IOO of providing a spring-coil the lower tubularsections may be threaded and receive a perforated cap rfor holdingmedicated absorbent material inthe device; The spring-coil 10, whichcontains the cotton or other absorbent material, is retained within thedevice by frictionally engaging the walls thereof, and it may be readilyremoved when it is desired to renew the medicine.

The device may be constructed as illustratedin Fig. i of theaccompanying-drawings, and consists of a substantially Y-,shaped casingl2, having its upper arms or tubular portions 1 3 adapted to be insertedin the nose of a patient, and the lower arm 14 constitutes a singlemedicine-chamber. This construction dispenses with one of the valves ofvthe device.

The invention has lthefollowing advantages: Tlie device, which'issimpleand v comparatively inexpensive in construction, is adapted for.treating various diseases-such as colds, catarrh, hay-fever, asthma,bronchial aiections,vand the like-and the medicinechambers are alsoadapted to be provided with Changes in the form, proportion, and minorvdetails of construction may be resortedvv to without departing from thespirit or sacricing any of the advantages of this invention. I

What is claimed is- A l. A device of the class described comprising apair of tubes yieldingly'connected and adapted to have their upper endsintroduced into the nose v of a patient and capable of clamping theseptum ofthe same, said tubes being open at their lower ends andprovided at their upper ends with removable bands, inwardly-openingvalves mounted within the ,tubes between the ends thereof,outwardlyopening valves located above the said valves, and thetransverse springs located within the openvv lower portions of the tubesand having their ends frictionally engaging lthe walls thereof, saidvsprings being adapted to support absorbent material and being readilyremovable and replaceable through the open lower ends of the tubes,substantially as described.

2; A device of the class described'comprising a pair of tubes adapted tobe lintroduced into the nostrils, and provided with a medicine-chamber,and having valves, and the soft elastic bands removably arranged on theupper ends of the tubes" so that bands ofdifferent thickness may beemployed to vary the `diameter of the nosepiece, substantially asdescribed.

Y 3. A device of the class described provided with amedicine-chamberopen at its lower end, absorbent material arrangedwithin the medicine-chamber, and the coiled spring eX- tending acrossthe open bottom of the medicine-chamberV and supporting the absorbentmaterial, the ends 'of ,the spring frictionally engaging the walls ofthemedicine-chamber and detachably retaining the spring in posi` tion andenabling the same to be readily removed and replaced through the openbottom, substantially as and for the purpose described.

Intestimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

y THoMAs NoRvAL BARNES.

Witnesses:

R. THOMAS LILLY,l ROBERT L. BLAND.

